'The Pale Dreamer' by Samantha Shannon is a prequel novella to her 'Bone Season' series that introduces the main protagonist Paige Mahoney, the clairvoyant underworld and the Scion, a group dedicated to eradicating clairvoyants in an alternative London set in the near future of 2056, a few years before the first book in series begins.
A poltergeist is on the loose in London and the novella, narrated by Paige, follows Paige as she is tasked with her first assignment to locate the 'geist before it causes havoc and before other gangs in the clairvoyant syndicate lay claim to it. As she's only been with the team a months, she has been itching to get an assignment but she is at first full of self doubt as to whether she is even up to the task. But with the crew of the Seven Seals behind her, under the leadership of Jaxon Hall, she learns to have confidence in herself and in her abilities, the added experiences of negotiating the rival gangs plus surviving an unpleasant encounter with the Underlord, head of the syndicates, she actually does better than she thought possible.
I found it felt kind of similar to Neil Gaiman's 'Neverwhere', a blend of the familiar and fantastic with a whole world hidden in plain sight from the regular non clairvoyant population. And that, to me, is no bad thing at all as 'Neverwhere' is one of my favourite books. The world building of this secretive world of the paranormal is done very well, and together with the good character development too, draws you into Paige's London and by the end I was wanting more of the characters and world.
It's a short but good read that serves to pique my interest in the main 'Bone Season' series, of which I've heard many good things, and is now on my TBR list. But as I had no knowledge of the characters or setting, it also worked as an enjoyable stand alone story too. A recommended read.
Available from Bloomsbury Publishing, Audible Audiobooks and all good bookstores.
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